Fairy Tail: Monochrome Key
by UmbranHeart137
Summary: Ludwig is a Celestial Spirit Mage much like his mother Lucy Heartfillia, only when a tragedy struck the household it left a wound in the boy's heart. Now after twelve years the seventeen-year-old leaves his brother's home in Clover Town to the guild of Fairy Tail in order to find answers to questions of his past but things get complicated when he stumbles upon a black summoning key
1. Chapter 1

_Ludwig,_

_I know how you feel about coming to live with me and my girlfriend but I personally believe that Magnolia no longer holds anything for us anymore. Mother and Father aren't coming back, they're gone. Have been since the day Loke save us from the house fire. I also know that since you found Mother's keys that you've been on a witch hunt to find out which dark guild sent the attack on our family home… if you really want to move on from this then it's time to officially let go of our parents, there's a perfectly good school here in Clover Town that you can go to in order to continue your studies instead of that guild. Loke warned us to remain hidden and that we needed to be on our guard, that's why he left you Mother's summoning keys. Please, little brother, come home._

_Lucas D._

Ludwig read the letter five times while he hid in the guild's library. He had been down here multiple times since he received it last month. The seventeen-year-old didn't know how his brother managed to find him but thankfully he sent some jewels with the parchment, most likely for a train ticket. He ran his right hand through his star spiked bangs while his left hand held onto the paper. Ludwig's eyes looked over books that he must of red over a thousand times now and not one of them could explain to him who could've attacked his parents the night of the fight when the sound of a woman clearing her throat caused the blonde to jump in his skin. He looked up to find the one and only Erza Scarlet firmly in place in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest. Her brown eyes spoke to his own brown ones,

"Luke, so this is where you ran off to," is what she said before holding an arm out to him not noticing the water that had begun to form in his orbs, "Decided to skip training today, huh?"

Ludwig felt a slight tinge of guilt to Erza's use of his false name he gave everyone when he returned to Magnolia. He took her armored hand and rose to his feet. Ludwig blinked away the water in his eyes before he shoved the money and letter his brother had sent into the front pocket of his blue jeans. Letting go of Erza's hand the seventeen-year-old quickly apologized before he saluted her,

"Of course not, I just got distracted by… an old friend, nothing serious just more of his complaining about me leaving Bosco," was all he could say and he knew better than to lie to his parents' old guild but what choice did he have?

Coming clean about who he really was would only slow down his search about what happened that night of the fire. The two of them quickly left the guild's library with the promise that Ludwig would train extra hard today. Once they were in the guild hall the blonde quickly had to duck in order to avoid a table to the face. Esmeralda stood by the door frame leading to the training room, she wore a black fitting tee shirt and a pair of black pants that were tucked into her white knee armored boots. She nodded to her mother before she disappeared into the room to prepare. Ludwig adjusted small white band that held up his mini ponytail. His brother always hated how Ludwig would trim his bangs and the back of his head yet would cut the top short along with the sides but the blonde didn't care, he was tired of following his brother's rules. Part of the reason why he left Clover Town.

Once all three of the mages where in the room Erza made sure to shut the door before she turned around to face the two young ones. This wasn't their first spar together, in fact, Erza remembers when young Luke requested to spar with Esmeralda. At first Erza laughed-on, the inside-and told him, no, then he asked if he could train him to fight. She agreed the third time he asked, it was something in his eyes the third time. The way they burned. It was like something struck her. The scarlet-haired mage watched as Luke stripped off his black jacket with white fur around the cuffs and hood to reveal a white shirt with a thick blue cross on the front and back. Even the boy's appeal seemed familiar to her. Esmeralda gave a friendly nod to her spar partner as they both took up their stances. Today was hand to hand combat, Luke appeared to do fairly well in that category. Erza raised her hand after she walked to the sidelines. With an open hand, she sliced it downward,

"Go!" she yelled to signal the beginning of the match.

Two hours. That's how long the first match lasted in which case Esmeralda didn't even break a sweat, Ludwig was panting softly as he held his arms up to block a high kick from the scarlet hair woman in front of him. His white sneakers dug into the hard packed dirt underneath him. He was proud of himself, he managed to get one good strike in before he got his ass handed to him. Ludwig was going to sport a good few bruises tomorrow but at least he was able to forget about his brother for a few hours. The blonde ducked under a punch before he threw his own, Esmeralda caught his fist-twisted it-before she pulled him forward and kneed him in the chest with enough power to force him to swirl in the air and land on his side. He scoffed as his body connected to the dirt.

He turned his head over to find Esmeralda with her right hand held out towards him. Ludwig gladly, even if painfully, took her hand. She pulled him onto her feet with a smirk on her face. Esmeralda said something about how he was getting braver for trying a direct attack. He was about to reply when a knock came onto the training room door. Erza made her way over to it as the two made small talk. When she returned she placed a handed a piece of paper over to her daughter,

"A job came up in a mountain range not far from here, take Nashi and Gideon with you. Seems there's a problem with people suddenly disappearing as they travel along a certain path," is all she said before she walked away to file the paperwork for the job request.

That's when it suddenly clicked in Ludwig's brain. Rent was going to be due next week and his brother only sent enough for a train ticket. He was going to need to find a job for himself. Maybe Mirajane could hook him like again or else he was going to have to find some other way of earning jewels for his rent… unless

"The mountains huh, sounds like it could be fun!" Ludwig said in his friendliest voice he could muster up.

Esmeralda looked up from the job request with a raised eyebrow. She smirked before she shook her head 'no' and walked out. Ludwig's smile faltered into a sigh while his shoulders fell. There went that idea. The blonde made his way out of the room, through the guild hall and then right through the front doors. Fairy Tail. The only lead he had to anything connected to his parents anymore. He thought about what would happen if he came clean to his fellow guildmates or at least he hoped that Erza would accept him as a guild member. Ludwig stopped in his tracks when he remembered that he forgot to grab a job from Mirajane. She was kind enough to at least allow him to take small jobs in order to get by.

Turning on his heels the boy wandered back into the guild just as a young woman with pink hair and blue eyes ran by following along with a young man with dark blue hair. They seemed to be in a hurry. When he turned around he found that a light blue cat with a green tee shirt was waiting next to Esmeralda who was now in a slim-fitting outfit of a black sleeveless shirt padded with metal along with a matching pair of pants and boots. The pink haired girl wore a pair of fitting blue jeans, sandals and a purple tank top that hugged her chest while showing her stomach. The boy wore a dark blue tee shirt with a pair of black pants and black boots. He was the only one to turn around to lock his light blue eyes with Ludwig's. The two boys held eyes for a second before the blonde scoffed and went inside the guild for his job.

A big sigh came from his mouth at the flyer that the white-haired mage handed to him. It was a job that paid just enough to maybe bring him halfway to his rent. He knew that being the type of mage that he was that the larger jobs would need a partner. Ludwig now understood how his mother felt when she talked about her jobs in the past. Mirajane smiled at the boy who finished his strawberry shake and filled her in on that problem he was currently facing. She felt bad for the kid but he did remind her of a certain Celestial Wizard who was no longer with them. The woman sighed before she pulled out another flyer… _could he do this job though? _The thought entered her mind as she looked it over. There was no name written down, just a reward, a town, and a small description of the job. There wasn't even a power level ranked with it. Surely he had to have some type of power in order to be in a guild yet he has displayed no magic, maybe he was just shy about it. It was that thought that pushed her toward her next decision.

Ludwig felt a tug on his jacket that forced him to look up at the mage before him. She handed him a flyer with a finger up to her mouth. The blonde looked down at the flyer that read, "Unknown Artifact that's affecting the water supply and killing those who drink from it, 50,000 Jewels,". Ludwig felt his smile return as he quickly gave Mirajane a hug before he rushed out of the guild hall. This job would be enough to cover his rent for the next month! That would buy him some more time to allow him to search for those responsible for his parents.

With a new fire in his step, Ludwig busted into his small apartment. It was one bedroom with a small bathroom, the kitchen and bedroom was practically one room with only a half wall to separate the two. He quickly threw open his closet. The flyer said that the area was a village in the mountains but that the water supply came from a cave system located in the mountains. Ludwig grabbed his heavier white pea coat to throw into his white mini bag along with his black mid-thigh winter boots with white fur around the top in a thick layer. He was about to leave when he stopped in front of his desk for on top of the worn gray wood sat a keyring with all fifteen of his mother's Celestial Spirits. Something deep inside him screamed to grab his mother's keys, just in case. He walked over to the chair that held a brown leather belt with a brown leather box to carry the keys in. Ludwig swallowed his pride before he snatched both the keys and belt.

**Once outside, the belt looped around his waist the box full of keys located on his right hip, the blonde looked at the flyer in his hands his bag packed and firmly on its place between his shoulder blades. His body whined a little bit as he began his journey to the train station. A whine that he fully ignored for it would most likely just slow him down if he paid too much attention to it and he didn't have the time to rest up. The job was one of the biggest he's taken since he came to Magnolia in search of answers.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I am so sorry for how this page came out I have no idea how that ended up happening. I think I fixed it an I will be checking things more carefully from now on I promise!**

Chapter Two 

Ludwig didn't stop walking until he reached his seat on the train. For once his brother's train money came in handy besides the snacks it allowed him to buy from time to time. The blonde sat down next to the window in order to watch as everything passed him by. His right hand played with the Leo Key in his pouch while his head leaned upon his left hand. He could still remember how excited he was when his mother allowed him to summon one of her keys, Leo was pretty excited as well. His favorite to summon was Capricorn because of his poems and knowledge of so many books. Lucas took more after their father only instead of being a Lightning Dragon Slayer he was just a simple Lightning Mage. Both blondes tried hard to make their parents proud of their magic; however, that one night Ludwig had a nightmare about a scary man in his bedroom. That night, they were attacked by a dark guild and all Ludwig could do was watch as their house burned down with no trace of their parents left. The young Celestial Mage could still smell the smoke, he could still feel the way his big brother held him as he cried out for their parents.

A sudden jolt of the train caused the blonde to be thrown from his memories. He stood up to stretch his legs when the familiar sound of yelling came to his ears. Ludwig quietly walked over to the door that leads into the other car and peeked through the window. He noticed the trio from the guild; Esmeralda sat alone with her back towards him, the pink haired girl was looking as though she was going to throw up, and the dark blue haired boy sat by the window. Ludwig must have caught the boy's attention because they once again locked eyes with each other, but this time Ludwig wouldn't let them hold. He quickly turned around and ran passed his seat with a swift grab for his bag. The last thing he needed was Esmeralda thinking that he was following them, Erza didn't even know that Ludwig-Luke took jobs from Mirajane on the down low and he really didn't want to get his only ties to that place taken away from him.

Ludwig heard the door behind him open as his shut. He looked up to find none other than Esmeralda speed walking toward him. The blonde didn't like the look plastered on her face but the door in front of him was locked, first class he guessed, so he poked his head out along the side of the train to find it about ten yards away from entering a train station at the base of the snowy peaks. His goal was somewhere up there, he could even see the town from here. At the sound of the door handle, Ludwig did what his brother would consider highly stupid. He jumped right off the train onto the grass that made up the field before him. His body groaned at him for the harsh movement as he didn't land as gracefully as he had hoped.

A voice came from the train but it was carried off by the wind as Ludwig stood up in order to brush off grass and dirt from his clothes. If he was lucky, Esmeralda would think nothing of her spotting him all the way out here, maybe she didn't even notice that he was on the train and would pass it off as simply not enough sleep. The blonde noticed the train begin to slow down so he decided to avoid the station altogether while he started his walk to the village at the base of the mountain.

It took a total of six hours until he reached the village limits which earned him a nice whine from his ribs and left hip. His chest also tingled a little bit but he wasn't about to start a lean way for the sore spots that have begun to form on his body. Ludwig entered the village with a small smile on his face. He thought about summoning his mother's clock spirit to carry him while he took a nap but decided against it once a scent of food took control of his nose. The blonde also noticed how the temperature had dropped from warmth to a spring breeze of luke-warm. He adjusted his bag in order to pull out the flyer and started to reread the information to try to see if he could find the man or woman who instituted the help but he couldn't find a name to go with the reward, in fact, as he took a closer look at the paper there wasn't any more than the location of the artifact and there was no information at all about what type of artifact he was looking for,

"Great," he groaned as he looked around the busy village, "This is only my fifth job and I decided to go in blind,"

Ludwig looked up at the mountain. The paper said that the village was supplied water from the cave system up in the peaks. All he had to do was follow it back to its source and then bam! The artifact couldn't be too far behind. Ludwig made his way through the village until he found what looked to be a mountain path. He figured there was no point in asking someone about the mountain when he was already embarrassed enough as it is and if someone was just pranking the guild than he wouldn't just get Mirajane in trouble but he would most like be kicked out and that was not an option.

The blonde didn't switch into his winter boots and peacoat until he heard the crunch of snow under his feet, thankful that he remembered to bring a snowcap as well. Ludwig walked forward with doubt cradled in his mind, doubt that he didn't need but couldn't help but feel clown around inside his head. He was surprised to find the weather so nice the higher he climbed; instead of harsh winds and blinding snow, there was a gentle breeze with not one cloud in the sky. Ludwig stopped some yards up the path to see if he could scout out the water, the thing he probably should have done first if he was going to list things;

Item one, find the water stream

Item two, follow said stream back to the caves

Item three, explore caves until the artifact is found

Item four, remove said item and then get paid.

In all honesty, it was a short list which meant that it should be easy. Then again it's the shortlists that normally have the toughest paths to completion. Ludwig took notice at how beautiful the view of the village would most likely be if he turned around but he didn't want to feel distracted by anything on his first big job like this... if this was an actual job. The blonde didn't like backing down from a challenge which was good in his case because after about five more minutes of wandering around he decided it was time to step off the path in order to see if he could find the water supply or rather, that was the plan. He didn't actually get the chance to change up his route for a deep growl escaped from his right and when he spun around he tensed up. There in front of him stood a steel grey wolf with its teeth bared, fur hunched up ready to attack but that's not what was concerning for the young mage.

Ludwig undid the hook for his whip and gave it one good test crack before he bent his knees ready to fight. A howl let out into the air before the wolf lunged forward, Ludwig dived to the right into a shoulder roll. Once on his feet, the mage swung his whip downward with enough force to cause it to cut the flesh around the wolf's muzzle only to have the beast growl with narrowed dark violet eyes that leaked purple light in a cracked form down its cheeks. The blonde was about to ready his whip again when the sound of snarls and barks came from not just behind him but from the sides as well. His brown eyes looked both ways before he turned halfway around to find himself completely surrounded by the creatures, each one in different stages of the purple glow that spread throughout their bodies. _These aren't normal wolves_ he told himself while he readied himself once more only this time he had his whip in his left hand while his right was resting on top of the box on his belt.

It's been years since he summoned any one of his mother's spirits but perhaps his contract with them still stood since his childhood. Dodging to his left only to bend backward to avoid a second wolf Ludwig quickly reached into the box in order to pull out a golden key with the teeth in the shape of an ax,

"Open! Gate of the Golden Bull!" Ludwig called outward while he crouched down to not get maimed by another wolf as the spell circle appeared right next to him his right arm held outward in front of him, "Taurus!"

It worked. He actually did it. Ludwig felt proud of himself as the Celestial Spirit appeared knelt down next to him with a smirk on his face. Leo once told him that all he had to do was call on them and that they would appear but how could Ludwig call upon his mother's old friends when he could barely step outside of his apartment in Magnolia. Taurus rose to his feet as he swung his weapon in order to knock a wolf into a nearby tree. Ludwig also stood up but not for the same reason. He didn't know how long he could hold the gate open, even with the bull's help. The blonde wrapped a part of his whip in his right hand after he put the golden key into his mouth like a bone then he pulled the whip up just as a wolf lunged towards the bull's back. Taurus felt the mage hit his back so he looked back to notice his struggle with the wolf. The bull quickly spun around while he swung his ax only to catch two more wolves that tried to take advantage of the pinned mage but Taurus wasn't about to let that happen as flashes of his time fighting with Lucy passed through the bull's mind.

That was all he needed to summon a cluster of sand-snow tornadoes around the two after he kicked the wolf who pinned Ludwig down. Taurus hugged Ludwig close to make sure he didn't get blown away in the cluster while the wolves wouldn't have such luck on their side. Once everything was said and done the bull kept his hold on the boy. This was his first summon in twelve years, was he going to be alright once he lets go? Taurus got his answer when the boy held up his key and closed his gate. Ludwig could feel his eyes began to water as he placed the key back into the box on the keyring. His body felt the drain of his magic with the summon but he shook it off and decided it was time to get back to his search for the cave system; everything else could wait until he returned to his apartment back in Magnolia just like the letter to his brother that lays on his desk unfinished.


End file.
